Even though leading player Jimmy Butler couldn’t play for the fourth time because his leg got hurt, the Heat team still performed really well. The team faced even more issues because Kyle Lowry (hurting leg), Caleb Martin (not-so good right ankle) and Josh Richardson (back soreness) were unable to take part in the game.
However, the Heat’s aid group did well. Jamal Cain got 18 points and grabbed six bounces. Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Bam Adebayo both gathered 17 points each as well. The win kicked off a five-game trip on the West Coast for Miami.
The Golden State Warriors lost only once on their own ground. The Warriors had a hard beginning to the season where they lost six out of seven games. But then, at home at Chase Center, they won eight straight games in a row. But recently they lost in their home game to the Heat – this was their first since 18 Nov when they played against Oklahoma City. Also, the loss caused the Warriors to fail and they had a total of 15 wins and 16 losses.
Even with Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry gathered 13 points, the Warriors didn’t do well in their game against Miami’s tough defense. Curry, in particular, was held in check until he sank a crucial 3-pointer with 3:44 were left by the second quarter. The Heat’s defense caused Curry to play less. He didn’t let him take three shots. Then, he figured out how to get more points.
Moses Moody and Andrew Wiggins scored 11 points each, but the Warriors didn’t make many shots. They only got 42% of their attempts right and a really terrible 24.2% from far distance (8 out of 33). The Heat’s strong defense and teamwork were too much for the Warriors to beat, breaking their great home winning run.
NBA STANDINGS:
